title: Isolation of human lung dendritic cells.
abstract: In the lung several cell types are capable of presenting antigen to T cells. The dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen-presenting cell. DC form a rare cell population in the lung and early studies were hampered because scarce cell populations are seldom easy to isolate. Besides, this cell is phenotypically heterogeneous depending on its localization, differentiation, or activation status. This chapter will elaborate on the heterogeneity that has to be taken into consideration when studying and isolating lung DC. Furthermore, techniques for the isolation of lung DC from human parenchymal lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) are described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine of the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: van den Heuvel
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Havenith
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Beelen